WASHINGTON TRUST Co Cuts Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

WASHINGTON TRUST Co decreased its position in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 158,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 31,135 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Copart were worth $6,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CPRT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Copart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $569,569,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Copart by 298.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $217,243,000 after acquiring an additional 3,660,031 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Copart by 2,266.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,689,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $165,895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,533,133 shares during the period. Akre Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Copart by 253.1% during the 3rd quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 4,236,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $190,527,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036,760 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Copart by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,901,310,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581,784 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Stock Performance

Copart stock opened at $32.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 1.02. Copart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.20 and a fifty-two week high of $52.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.91.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.48% and a return on equity of 16.63%. Copart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total transaction of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 79,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. This trade represents a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CPRT shares. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price target on shares of Copart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price target on shares of Copart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Copart has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Copart Profile

Copart (NASDAQ: CPRT) is a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services, focused primarily on the sale of salvage and clean-title vehicles. The company operates a technology-driven auction platform that connects sellers — including insurance companies, vehicle finance firms, rental car companies, dealerships and fleet owners — with a broad buyer base consisting of vehicle dismantlers, recyclers, rebuilders and retail buyers. Copart’s business model centers on efficient vehicle disposition using digital bidding and logistics services to maximize recovery value for its clients.

Core services include hosting live and timed online auctions, vehicle listing and inspection support, title processing, and transportation and storage solutions.